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Legio Astorum
Legion during the Horus Heresy]] during the Siege of Vraks]] Imperial Guard Regiment, Armoured battlegroup]] The Legio Astorum (Warp Runners) are one of the many Loyalist Titan Legions of the Collegia Titanica, the military arm of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Legio Astorum is one of the oldest Legions, its Forge World being Lucius, located in the Segmentum Obscurus. This Titan Legion is suspected to have been founded before the Age of the Imperium. The Warp Runners fought throughout the Great Crusade and still retains a number of Titans blessed by the Emperor himself. Later, the Legion fought throughout the darkest days of the Horus Heresy, fighting in numerous engagements including the Battle for Tallarn. The Warp Runners continue to faithfully serve the Emperor and His Imperium. Notable Campaigns Great Crusade *'Kamenka Troika Campaign (Unknown.M31)' - Sometime during the middle years of the Great Crusade (the Emperor's great reconquest of the galaxy), the Legio Astorum fought alongside the then-loyal Thousand Sons Legion and a Lifehost of PanPac Eugenians of the Imperial Army . The Emperor had issued the writs of war commanding this combined Imperial task force the difficult task of driving the savage Greenskin menace from the three satellite planets (collectively known as the Kamenka Troika) of the world of Kamenka Ulizarna - a world claimed by the Mechanicum of Mars. The savagery of that war, the slaughter and relentless, grinding attrition had left tens of thousands dead in its wake. Imperial forces were finally victorious after two years of fighting and earned a score of honours for their war banners. Victory had been won, but the cost had been high with the loss of nearly an entire Warp Runners' detachment of Titans. With the successful conclusion of the campaign the Thousand Sons honoured the Legio Astorum by recovering Canis Vertex, the last Legio Astorum Titan to fall. They repaired and restored the great war machine and then had it transported to their homeworld of Prospero where it was mounted upon the pyramid of the Pyrae Cult. Horus Heresy *'Battle of Tallarn (Unknown.M31)' - The Legio Astorum is known to have fought in various engagements during the Horus Heresy, including the famed Battle of Tallarn. During the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion -- intending to destroy all potential resistance before landing -- virus-bombed the world of Tallarn, rendering it an inhospitable desert. Only then did the Chaos Space Marines land. Tallarn's few survivors emerged from their underground bunkers to stop the Iron Warriors' invasion. Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived including the Legio Astorum Titan Legion. It soon became painfully clear to the Imperial forces the futility of fighting over a destroyed planet, but by then there was no turning back. Though it was not known at the time, the Traitor Legion was motivated to attack the world beyond their mere appetite for destruction as Tallarn was the site of a hidden and potentially powerful Chaos artefact. The poisoned environment made it impossible for infantry troops to operate outside of their protective shelters, the only available option for battle was that of armoured tank warfare and the support of the Titan war machines of the Legio Astorum. The Warp Runners fought their traitorous kin from the infamous Legio Mortis Titan Legion, while the largest tank battle in human history erupted on the surface of Tallarn, involving some 10 million armoured vehicles. By the end of this brutal conflict, the Iron Warriors were defeated, and the wreckage of over a million tanks littered the sands. *'Unrecorded Engagements (Unknown.M31)' - The Legio Astorum Titan Legion is also known to have taken part in other numerous unrecorded engagement with the forces of Warmaster Horus. The two most notable of these engagements involved the destruction of a combined Chaos battleforce comprised of Emperor's Children traitor Space Marines and Titans from the rebel Tiger Eyes Legio. Post-Heresy *'Struggle for Nycron (Unknown.M41)' - This is a little known engagement that the Legio Astorum was credited for taking part in. *'Siege of Vraks (813-830.M41)' - During the infamous Siege of Vraks, the Legio Astorum Titan battlegroup provided the 88th Siege Army with its heaviest armour and firepower. The commitment of this battlegroup in support of the 12th Line Korps was the decisive factor in breaking through the inner defence lines. The Princeps of the Warp Runners continued to support the campaign on Vraks on numerous occasions, and were heavily engaged again when the Red Scorpions Chapter captured the breach in the curtain wall, matching weapons and armour with traitor Titans of the Legio Vulcanum. 13th Black Crusade When the Forces of Chaos assaulted the world of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41, the Legio Astorum was one of the loyalist Titan Legions of the Collegia Titanica to help in the defense of the beleaguered Imperial world. The Warp Runners fought in multiple campaigns including: *'Amistel Majoris' - When the world of Amistel Majoris (located in the Agripinaa Sector was besieged by Plague Marines of the infamous Death Guard Legion. Despite the planet being reduced to a mass of putrefying corpses, which littered the ravaged planet, the Imperial Guard 83rd Regiment of the Drookian Fen Guard helped bolster Imperial forces with a masterful defensive strategy which held out until the arrival of additional Imperial forces in the form of the Howling Griffons Space Marine Chapter and the Titans of the Legio Astorum. *'Demios Primary' - When Skitarii forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus factory world of Demios Primary were scattered by the combined Chaos forces of the Black Legion and the Extinction Angels, it was the combined Imperial forces of the Legio Astorum Titans and the Space Marines of the Black Templars Chapter which liberated the forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Notable Titans *''Canis Vertex'' - A Warlord-Class Titan that fought during the Great Crusade alongside the then-loyal Thousand Sons Legion in the Kamenka Troika Campaign. The Canis Vertex was the last Titan of the Legio Astorum to fall. For their service, the Thousands Sons honoured the Warp Runners by recovering and restoring the Canis Vertex. They then had the Titan transported to their homeworld of Prospero and mounted upon the pyramid of the Pyrae Cult. Nearly a century later, the Canis Vertex would rise once more, through magical means by the Thousands Sons sorcerers, to protect their homeworld from the ravaging Space Wolves Legion during the Burning of Prospero. *''Fortunata Imperiatrix'' - ''Reaver''-Class Titan that fought during the Horus Heresy at the Battle of Tallarn.'' *''Spirit of Imperial Victory'' - (Unknown Class) Titan that fought during the Horus Heresy at the Battle of Tallarn. Notable Personnel *'Rand Drauca' - Reaver Titan Princeps Praetorian Fortunata Imperiatrix *'Kask' - First Princeps, Battle of Tallarn. *'Talon' - Princeps with over 100 confirmed kills, Battle of Tallarn. *'Silberman' - Princeps who was shot and killed by a sniper, Battle of Tallarn. *'Marnoc' - (Successor of Princeps Silberman) Princeps during the Battle of Tallarn. *'Toal' - Moderatus, Battle of Tallarn. *'Hazan' - Moderatus, Battle of Tallarn. *'Warden' - Moderatus, Batle of Tallarn. *'Kurtz' - Warhound-Class Titan Princeps, Battle of Tallarn. Legion Appearance Legion Colours The colours of this Titan Legion are Sources *''A Thousand Sons'' (Novel) *''Codex: Eye of Terror'' (3rd Edition) *''Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks - Part One'' p. 8 *''Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two'' p. 118 *''Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three'' 126, 161 Category:L Category:Adeptus Mechanicus Category:Collegia Titanica